VALE DAVE IRVINE

Recreational fishing in Australia lost one of its true innovators with the untimely passing of Dave Irvine back in March this year. He was just 44 years of age.

A super keen recreational fisherman skilled in many facets of the sport — from spinning for jewfish off the rocks, snapper on soft

plastics, mangrove jacks in the local creeks and everything in between — Dave is probably best remembered in the wider fishing community as the inventor of the ground-breaking Environet.

The net's development came about through Dave's desire to handle his beloved eastern cod and Australian bass in a way that would maximise their long term survival chances.

The early Environets were, to put it mildly, pretty bloody rough, but following feedback from anglers, fishing guides around the country, and input from the team at Dunphy Sports, the Environet was developed to become the sleek, functional and effective design we see today.

Prior to going into the net business full-time, Dave's main source of income was building. Finding it hard to cram enough fishing time into his life, he set up a guided fishing operation, with his company Platypus Tours, conducting canoe trips down the Nymboida River on the mid north coast of NSW. Dave probably didn't make a whole lot of money from this venture, but he did make a lot of great friendships, which survived right up until his death.

The Environet's success is a great testimony to the man and they are now the only nets permitted in the ABT tournament circuit and the Northern Territory 's Barra Nationals.

They are widely used in aquaculture ventures and come strongly recommended by the NT government for use in their barra fisheries in the Top End. In fact, anyone who doesn't use an Environet for catch and release fishing in this day and age of greater awareness about the sometime frail nature of our fish is doing themselves and the sport a great disservice.

Not only did Dave make the nets, but also he taught people how to handle and care for the fish in the correct manner, which was an important adjunct.

Another Irvine innovation was the Brag Mat — a vinyl measuring mat designed to protect a fish's delicate slime coating and enable an accurate length measurement to be made — so important in today's catch and release events.

Always a thinker, prior to his death Dave was working on a 1.5 metre Environet ‘cradle' for weighing and handling those big impoundment barra, and as everyone who has caught a metre-plus specimen can attest, they are awkward creatures to handle if they are to be returned to the water in good condition. Another project was a waterproof safety bag, both of which will be in the stores soon.

With the Environet operation being a true cottage industry, especially in the early days, it was a real hands-on enterprise when orders had to move out the door, with Dave's wife Toni, his brother Paul, and his children Ruby and Billy, all jumping onto the assembly line in the back shed to help out.

Fishing with Dave was a real experience, and he really loved a chat, plus he had enough theories on life or why the fish were biting (or weren't biting), to fill a book. These were often hilarious and definitely from left field, but scratch the surface and you realised that there was also more than a grain of truth to his various hypothesis. Smart fishos who were fortunate to wet a line in his company could always learn something from ‘The Bantam'.

The radiation treatment used to treat testicular cancer when he was in his 20s left Dave with weakened arterial flow and it was the collapse of the main artery to the heart that eventually claimed him.

That cheeky grin, his love of a practical joke and enthusiasm for his product will be missed greatly at the next tackle show, fishing competition or wherever like-minded fishos gather.

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Trade Enquiries:
Dunphy Sports/Fishing Imports P/L
PO Box 2082 Taren Point, NSW, 2229. Ph: (02) 9526 2144. Fax: (02) 9526 2510.
Website: www.shimanofish.com.au